BOATS ON FILM - SINKING WITH CINEMA

Last year I was lucky enough to go on a boating holiday with my older cousin from Essex. Well, I say I was lucky, when in actual fact I lost my wallet, my cousin was drunk most of the time, the boat we hired kept on stalling, plus, to make matters even more dire, we both managed to get fish poisoning at a local fish and chip shop. Still, I suppose it could have been a lot worse. We could have been involved with the following boat related films. Sink or swim, here they come...

Based on a novel written by Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons tells the tale of two sets of children who claim that they've discovered the same deserted island first. Now the initial set of children are called the Walker children, whom own a boat called the Swallow. Where as the second set of children are called the Blackett sisters, whom likewise own a boat called the Amazon. Eventually both family's decide to compete against each other on a boat themed quest, with the noted victor claiming the island for themselves. Who will win and who will loose is anyone's guess. Although my money is on the film company who made it, Wink-Wink!

It's a little known fact that Peter Benchley wrote the novel this film was based on, while he was down on his luck, and contemplating life on a beach. 'What would happen if a shark just jumped out of the water and ate me up?', he said to himself, 'What would happen then, eh? To my wife, to my family, and to all of those people around me'. Fortunately, this germ of an idea was made into a book and taken up by the then fledgling director, Steven Spielberg, who managed to defy the odds and make a thriller that has grown to become a cultural phenomenon. The story itself basically evolves around three people: Police Chief Martin Brody (as played by Roy Scheider), a shark hunter named Quint (as played by Robert Shaw), and an oceanographer called Matt Hooper (as played by Richard Dreyfuss), who each attempt to investigate the death of a young woman who dies while swimming off the coast of a New England town. Not the end, of course not. Yet it could be the beginning of the summer blockbuster. Daaaa-Duuummmm.

Life of Pi is a film that's been adapted from a novel written by Yann Martel, which follows the epic survival story of a man named Pi Patel (as played by Suraj Sharma). Essentially, this yarn recounts what Pi has gotten up to during his time here on earth, like how his family owned a zoo when he was a young boy, how he grew close to a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, plus how Pi felt when his family perished while they were on a boating trip to Canada. Don't worry though. As luck would have it, Pi survived this disaster, and along with a zebra and Richard Parker, one by one, they all go about their day's experiencing the Life of Pi!

Captain Jack Sparrow (as played by Johnny Depp) has now been captivating the imagination of movie going audiences for over a decade. So when his former crew raid a seaport town and kidnap the Governor’s daughter, Elizabeth (as played by Keira Knightley), Will Turner, the local Blacksmith (as played by Orlando Bloom), teams up with the renegade pirate captain with the intent of rescuing her and reclaiming the Black Pearl. Despite these two men making for a highly unlikely duo, they both go on a daring and impossible adventure that takes them from the bottom of the ocean to an island where the key to removing a curse lays hidden within.

This 1950s classic is a quintessential film for both pirates and treasure hunting enthusiasts alike. The film starts off with young Jim Hawkins (as played by Bobby Driscoll) being given a treasure map by a sickly lodger who's frequenting his mother’s inn, namely, Captain William Bones. As soon as he looks at the map Jim then hastily decides to join the crew of the Hispaniola as a cabin boy under the tutelage of Captain Smollett. But once at sea, a band of mutineers suddenly rise up and attempt to take the ship in order to claim the treasure for themselves. Ouch! Once this happens things seem to get rather hectic, rather quickly, with pirates, adventure, swashbuckling, and, you know, all of that sea-fairing malarkey, running rampant over the seven seas. Ship Ahoy! Booom!

Hand's up everyone who hasn't seen Titanic! Go on, raise those little pinkies and tell me that you've not seen the story of that big ship which hits an iceberg and goes down the swanny as quickly as a turd down a drain-pipe. Well, if you haven't, to elaborate, upon this ship’s infamous maiden voyage across the Atlantic, a beautiful socialite called Rose (as played by Kate Winslet) meets a young artist named Jack (as played by Leonardo DiCaprio), and together, they fall in love despite the ship they're sailing on head-butting a huge chunk of ice out in the wide blue yonder. What then transpires is a tale as old as the woman who's recounting it, as people die, people lie, people sigh, and at the end of the day, people spend a heap load of cash so they can watch this film fly.

If you're a lover of boats, sea trips, or high adventure in general, you might like to know that Kefalonia Cruise (By Enalos) is offering a great new service over the summer months. Please check them out and maybe one day you and a loved one will get wet in a nautical fashion.

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